Suggestions for aspiring programmer!

Hello everybody! My name is Brandon and I am taking my first programming class this semester! :D I am keeping up with all the work and doing quite well. It has been my dream to become a great programmer and now it is time to start working hard! I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions to get better at programming! Besides the same old, work hard and practice a lot etc! I was looking for sites to read, forums to troll, newspapers that are good on programming updates, suggestions for internships, programming languages to learn, how to do good assignments, how to be the best, ETC! Thank you so much for your time!